Hi! Just Starting Out.

[Brendan]

Hi guys! First I'd like to say what a warm and caring forum you've got going here. I really think I have struck gold with this one! I'm 21 and from Australia and I first heard about lucid dreaming quite a while ago but payed no attention to it, not knowing what it was until a week ago when I stumbled upon some information about it and became hooked. Since then, I've downloaded a heap of information about it, obtained "Brainwave Mind Voyages" and read a lot of information I found on the net. I think I am beginning to grasp the concept of lucid dreaming. So far, I've tried setting myself to LD when going to sleep, thinking about it a lot, performing the odd reality test (from tomorrow I'm going to try writing a big "R" on my hand and checking if it is still there throughout the day), drinking a bottle of coke before bed (I read this can increase dream recall) and listening to Brainwave Mind Voyages then putting the "Am I dreaming" loop track on repeat. I did this last night and at first I didn't think I dreamed at all, but later on I very very vaguely remember that I did have a dream of some sort. I don't know if it was lucid or not. The battery on my MP3 player died during the night so I don't know if it lasted till REM sleep. Does anyone know if the "Am I dreaming" loop is a good idea and if it could possibly work? I have also purchased some Calea zachatechichi which hasn't arrived yet. Anyway, there are reasons why I am attempting these sorta shortcuts. I suffer mental illness and haven't had much motivation or really followed through with anything for quite a while. This has resulted in very weak conviction in what I do and poor resolve. Have I started off on the right track? And does Calea actually help with dream recall or becoming lucid? I also have a very poor dream recall and would like to know if there is anything I can do to improve this. I've been thinking about dreaming a lot lately and have set up a dream journal ready to be written in, but I've had nothing to write so far. (But I have just started.) Also, I am really interested in the NovaDreamer, especially considering it comes from the Lucidity Institute but it is not available for sale at the moment. I've found the REM-Dreamer which seems to be a viable alternative but would like to know if anyone has had an experience with either of these 2 devices and if they help at all? I've read they are a bit uncomfortable but I am willing to put up with it. (It can't be any more painful then sleeping with my crappy earphones in which was absolute agony&#33 Another thing that could be going against me having a LD is fear. I'm a bit scared about what will happen if I do have a LD. I listened to Brainwave Mind Voyages last night and it brought up a strong feeling in me. It was quite freaky. I 100% believe lucid dreaming is possible but it kind of seems too good to be true. Like I'm scared of the unknown or something. Well, I've raved on long enough Any help, suggestions, ideas or opinions would be awesome! What a great site you got going here! Can't wait for a response. -Brendan

[Lunalight]

Hey! I think you've started out pretty good. Keeping a dreamjournal, doing RCs and just thinking about LDs during the day are key checkpoints on the road to success. I don't have any experience with Calea or the Novadreamer, so I can't help you there. Also, a lot of people seem to have this fear of the unknown, but don't worry, lucid dreams can't hurt you. In fact, they can help you get over nightmares, along with plenty of other things. - Welcome to the forum!

[NeAvO]

Hey there Brendan and welcome to the forum Luna gave some good advice about dream journals and reality checks ect. Heres a link to the Tutorials Section if you need any infromation. Also if you get stuck or need any help feel free to ask. Have fun!

[Vex Kitten]

Hey there. Doesn't seem there is much advise left to offer. You seem to have everything you need to train yourself to lucid dream. Once you do start getting lucid you should give the Lucid Task of the Month a try. They're challening, fun, and sometimes turn out just plain demented. Welcome to Dream Views and hope you get lucid soon.

[Chaos]

Hey! Welcome to the forum! First of all, LDs are nothing to fear. Actually, when you have your first LD and you actually realizy you are dreaming, it is a very exiliterating experience! Also, since you know its a dream, usually you know that nothing in the dream world can harm you. There are a couple of experiences that some LDers have that some might find frightening such as sleep paralysis or having a WILD, but the key is to know that they cannot hurt you. Sleep Paralysis is just a state where your mind has woken up, but your body has not. It is actually a great dream sign and a great way to enter an LD. If you realize that you cannot move, do not freak out! Instead try to separate your dream body from your real body. I do this by rolling out of the bed onto the floor, but I'm sure it can be done many ways. As for WILDs, I am not really experienced w/ them. I have never had a successful WILD, but I have gotten to the begginning stages of one a few times. They also cause you to have many strange experiences, such as numbness, tingling of the limbs, a feeling of floating or falling, or you may experience something totally different. If you don't panic and just go along for the ride, hopefully you'll be fine. I always get too exited and wake up, but maybe you'll have better luck. As for dreamjournaling, even if you only remember brief fragments, you should write them down. Also, as soon as you wake up, DO NOT MOVE! Lie in the bed and try to retrace your dream as well as you can. Eventually most, if not all, of your dream should come back to you. Good Luck w/ your LDs!

[Brendan]

Wow, what a great response! Thank you everyone. I think what happened last night was a big milestone on my journey. I believe I have conquered my fears. I'll start from the beginning- Last night I listened to my LD MP3's again, this time turning off the TV so I could concentrate better. A few tracks in, things got interesting! I became very relaxed and got right into it then I remembered my dream from the night before. I then came to the profound realisation that there is nothing to fear and my dreams can't hurt me. I think what my problem was is that I hadn't remembered a dream for ages and the last dream I had I was drowning and I woke up gasping for air. I remembered that the dream I had was pleasant and nothing bad happened and how I would have liked to have been lucid in it. (I possibly even was! My memory of it isn't that good.) Anyway, after this I then started seeing visuals behind my eyelids. The main thing was a starry field with flickering white stars. I then became excited and the counter-productive thoughts that followed ended it early and I couldn't get it back. (I inadvertently self-sabotage with a lot of things.) After it was finished I put the "Am I dreaming?" loop on repeat again and went to sleep. The next morning I remembered I had a dream which was a positive one. I now have 2 entries in my dream journal. Woohoo! :yumdumdoodledum: Now having 2 good dreams in a row I am very confident and happy to have further dreams and to become fully lucid. I may have even been lucid in one or both of those dreams. They just seem different somehow to dreams I've had before. I think now my only barrier is my dream recall. But I will continue to do what I'm doing, learning more and more on the way. I'm really looking forward to receiving my Calea and trying that out. I feel that I am getting very close now. My mission for today is to do "Am I dreaming?" loop training. (I'd love some feedback on this.) I've written a big R for reality on the back of my hand and I ask myself "Am I dreaming?" then look to see if the R is there. I've been doing this throughout the day and I'm hoping this will help me learn to become lucid with the help of my looping MP3. Is there any advice that you guys can offer me for increasing my dream recall? I desparately want to get this up to scratch as I think it is the only thing holding me back. I've tried drinking a small coke before bed once. Is there anything else I can do to improve it? Thank you again to everyone for the warm reception. I really appreciate it. -Brendan

[Richter]

Congrats on the dream; I'm happy for ya! Dream Recall is not my strong suite, but I can tell that when I DO remember dreams, it is almost always because I woke "directly" from the dream. If I don't come straight out of an REM period, I rarely remember anything. I guess try and find out when your REM periods are, and set the alarm for those times. Once you get into the "habit" of waking at certain times, you should be good to go. According to others, once you start recalling dreams regularly, you won't have to wake up so strictly from the REM period; it's like one trains their mind NOT to forget! I wouldn't know, I haven't gotten that far yet! Tell me how the calea extract works; I'm interested, but not too sure about it yet.